Surgical dressing and the like



y 2, 196 v H. BARON 3,316,906

SURGICAL DRESSING AND THE LIKE Filed March 11, 1964 United States Patent 7 Claims. Cl. 128-156) The present invention relates to dressings and, more particularly, to dressings which are adapted to absorb body juices, such as surgical dressings, sanitary napkins, adhesive tapes with a pad thereon and the like.

Generally, the temperature between such dressings and the body portion contacted by the same will be such as to favor the development of undesirable bacteria such as bacteria coli. Within the temperature range to be considered, higher temperatures favor the development of such bacteria.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dressing and the like which is adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body fluids and which will cause a reduction of the temperature between the dressing and the contacted body portion or at the contacted body portion.

Generally, the temperature between the body portion and the dressing applied thereto will be within the range of between about 30 and 35 C. and if it is possible to reduce the temperature by just =1 or 2 0, this will already cause a very considerable reduction in the development of coli bacteria and thus will contribute to acceleration of the healing of wounds and also will reduce the development of odors.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will. become apparent from a further reading of the de scription and of the appended claims.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention contemplates a dark colored bandage adapted to be applied to a body portion for absorbing a substantial amount of the heat produced by the body portion and dissipating the same.

More specifically, the present invention is concerned with an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing having a dark color belonging to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave length.

According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes as an article of manufacture, an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, the absorbent dressing including a face portion adapted to contact the body portion, at least a major portion of the absorbent dressing having a dark color at least the major portion of which belongs to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave length, and at least the face portion of the dressing being formed of a fabric including a plurality of threads extending substantially parallel to each other, some of the threads of the plurality of substantially parallel threads being adapted, upon application of moisture to the face portion, to shrink to a greater extent than the remainder of the threads of the plurality of substantially parallel threads.

According to the present invention, a reduction of the temperature in the area of contact between the dressing and the body portion is achieved by giving to the dressing or at least to the major portion thereof a dark color. In other words, the dressing or the major portion thereof is dyed in such a color that less than 15% of the heat conveyed into the dressing is transmitted back to the 3,316,906 Patented May 2, 1967 body. For the sake of brevity, the transmittal of heat from the dressing back to the body will be called herein remission. Thus, the color of the dressing or at least of the major portion thereof will be so chosen that the remission will be less than 15%. Preferably, the color of the dressing will be chosen from the relatively short wave part of the visible spectrum or at least the major portion of the color of the dressing will belong to the bluish area of the spectrum.

Experiments have shown that the skin temperature below an applied carnbric-weave, gauze pad or cotton wadding upon maintaining such dressing in contact with the skin for 24 hours, will be lower by between 1 and 4 (3., most frequently between 2 and 3 C. provided that the fabric Weave or wadding was dyed as described above, for instance violet, indigo-blue or bordeaux-red. The effect, i.e. the degree of reduction of temperature depends also on the intensity or darkness of the color. The above mentioned temperature reductions were achieved with colors of such intensity that the remission of heat was less than 12%. However, dressings of lesser color intensity, for instance half the intensity which gives a re mission of less than 12%, still resulted in a lowering of the skin temperature as compared with a skin to which an uncolored or white dressing of otherwise similar characteristics had been applied.

The temperature-lowering effect of the thus dyed dressings is also achieved when the dyed dressing is covered by a white or only slightly colored covering, for instance, of gauze or the like.

Best results, i.e., particularly significant reductions in the skin temperature were obtained according to the pres sent invention under otherwise identical conditions when the dressing of the present invention was produced of artificial cellulosic fibers, particularly regenerated cellulose.

The lowering of the skin temperature which is the object of the present invention is unfavorably influenced by formation of adhesions and incrustations formed of absorbed body juices in the material of the dressing. In view thereof, it is preferred to impregnate the colored dressing of the present invention with a mate-rial which will prevent or at least diminish the coagulation of the proteins or blood constituents of the body juices which are absorbed by the dressing. Anticoagulants are well known in the art and good results are achieved, for instance, by impregnating the dressing with Hirudin or heparin.

According to another feature of the present invention, the lowering of the temperature in the area between the dressing and the underlying body portion or skin is favored by producing the dressing or at least the portion thereof which faces or contacts the body portion of. a fabric including a plurality of parallel threads which will react differently when being moistened, namely so that some of these parallel threads will shrink while others will not shrink or while others will shrink to a different degree. This can be achieved, for instance, by arranging the warp threads of the fabric so as to alternate threads of diflferent twist, so chosen that upon moistening the threads having one type of twist will shrink considerably while the alternating threads of the other type of twist will shrink only a little or not at all.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wound dressing;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an adhesive bandage provided with a pad;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sanitary napkin;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5-7 are schematic illustrations of different fabric structures which may be advantageously utilized in producing the dressing of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to FIG. 1, a wound dressing is shown applied to a body portion and comprising a pad 1 which may consist for instance of cotton wadding or of several layers of gauze, and which is maintained in position by superposed woven or knitted bands or bandages 2. Pad 1 is dyed with indanthrene brilliant violet of such intensity that the remission of pad 1 will only be about Comparison experiments were then carried out with dark-colored dressings according to FIG. 1 and similar but white dressings by applying the same to healthy skin. The pad 1 consisted of eight layers of cotton gauze and covered an area of 8 x 10 cm. It was found that the skin temperature underneath the dressing, after application of the same for 24 hours, was between 2.6 C. and 41 C., in the average 3.l C., lower underneath the colored dressing than underneath the otherwise similar but white dressing.

Similar experiments were then carried out with the only difference that the cotton gauze was replaced by eight layers of regenerated cellulose gauze and in this case it was found that after application for 24 hours the skin temperature underneath the colored dressing was lower by between 29 C. and 5.1 C., in the average by 3.4 C. than underneath the white regenerated cellulose dressing.

In a third set of experiments under otherwise similar conditions a dressing consisting of eight layers of regenerated cellulose cambric fabric was used and it was found that the skin temperature underneath the colored dressing was lower by between 1.1 C. and 43 C., in the average by 23 C. than underneath the white dressing. Finally, in the case of similar dressings made with a pad of cotton wadding, the skin temperature underneath the colored dressing was found after 24 hours to be between 1.2 C. and 3.8 C. lower than underneath the corresponding white dressing.

By dyeing the dressings in similar intensity with indigoblue or Bordeaux-red, it was found that either about the same reduction in skin temperature could be obtained or a reduction which was by between about 10 and 20% less than that obtained with the indanthrene brilliant violet dyed dressings. In all cases, a very marked lowering of the skin temperature underneath the colored dressing as compared with the skin temperature underneath a corresponding white dressing could be observed.

The above temperature reducing effect is not substantially influenced if of the eight layers of gauze or cambric weave only seven layers are dyed as described above while the eighth layer which is then applied directly to the skin remains undyed, i.e., white. It is therefore possible, to achieve the effect of the present invention with dressings which have a white appearance because the outermost layer may be undyed while the inner layers of the dressing are colored as described above.

FIG. 2 illustrates an adhesive plaster or dressing including a pad 3 consisting of several layers of gauze which has been dyed as described above, whereby the outermost layer may remain white. The supporting band 4 is, coated with a suitable adhesive which adheres gauze pad 3 to band 4 and which will permit adhering the entire dressing to a body portion which is to be partially covered by pad 3.

The sanitary napkin illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 comprises the insert or pad 6 of cotton wadding, gauze or the like, preferably made of regenerated cellulose, while the cover 6 consists of a woven or knitted fabric which may also consist of regenerated cellulose. At least part 6 is colored as described above.

The sanitary napkin or at least the dyed or colored pad 6 thereof is preferably impregnated with an anticoagulant for blood and proteins.

The layer or face of the dressing of whatever type which is to contact the body portion is preferably formed of a fabric having one of the constructions illustrated in FIGS. 5'7. Such fabric construction should not necessarily be limited to the outermost layer directly facing the body portion but several or all layers of the pad of said dressing may be made of such fabric. In the case of sanitary napkins, the fabric constructions of FIGS. 5-7 are particularly suitable for cover layer 7.

The fabric according to FIG. 5 consists of weft threads 3 and 9 and warp threads 10 and 11. Warp thread 10 consists of such material or is twisted in such a manner or is pretensioned in such a manner that upon moistening of warp thread 10 the same will shrink to a considerable extent. On the other hand, warp thread 11 is thus treated that it will not shrink upon moistening or will shrink to a much lesser degree than warp thread 10, or even so that warp thread 11 will become elongated upon being moistened.

When a fabric such as illustrated in FIG. 5 is moistended, then warp thread 10 will shrink considerably and thereby will lift portions of the fabric from its support. This will prevent that the fabric, when moistened with body juices, will become stiff and adherent.

According to FIG. 6, warp threads 10 and 10, together with weft threads 8 form the upper layer of the fabric while warp threads 11 and 11' together with weft threads 9 form the lower layer of the fabric. Warp threads 11 bind the lower layer to the upper layer of the fabric. Warp threads 10 and 10' are of the type which will shrink very considerably upon moistening, in any event, much more than warp threads 11 and 11', the latter being .such that they 'dont shrink at all or only very little or even become elongated upon being moistened. The warp threads which shrink strongly upon moistening are indicated by broken lines while the warp threads which shrink less or not at all are indicated. in full lines.

Fabrics of this type can be formed depending upon the specific requirements and conditions and depending on the thread material and the type of weaving looms available, in many different ways. Thus, FIG. 7 illustrates an arrangement wherein weft threads 8 and 9 or and 9' of different size or diameter alternate with each other and the warp threads 11 and 11 are located exclusively in the upper and lower layer, respectively, of the fabric, while the more strongly shrinking warp threads 1i) and 10" connect the upper layer to the lower layer of the fabric.

The fabric may also be so constructed that several warp threads of the same type, i.e. strongly shrinking warp threads or non-shrinking warp threads are arranged next to each other. However, it is essential in accordance with the presently described embodiment of the present invention that in the fabric a considerable number of strongly shrinking warp threads are located adjacent to warp threads which do not shrink or shrink only very little or which even become elongated upon being moistened.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of bandages differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an absorbent dressing, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifica:

tions and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge-readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of manufacture an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing consisting essentially of fibers selected from the group of cotton fibers and cellulosic fibers and having a dark color belonging to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave lengthl 2. As an article of manufacture a dark colored absorbent dressing consisting essentially of fibers selected from the group of cotton fibers and cellulosic fibers and adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least the major portion of the dark color of said dressing belonging to the part of the Visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave length.

3. As an article of manufacture an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing consisting essentially of artificial cellulosic fibers and having a dark color at least the major portion of 'WhiCh belongs to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short Wave length.

4. As an article of manufacture an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least :a major portion of said absorbent dressing having a dark color at least the major portion of which belongs to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave length and at least said major portion of said absorbent dressing being impregnated with an anticoagulant.

5. As an article of manufacture an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing having a dark color at least the major portion of which belongs to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short wave length and at least said major portion of said absorbent dressing being impregnated with an anticoagulant selected from the group consisting of Hirudin and heparin.

6. As an article of manufacture, an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, said absorbent dressing including a face portion adapted to contact said body portion, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing having a dark color at least the major portion of which belongs to the part of the visible spectrum characterized by a relatively short Wave length, and at least said face portion of said dressing being formed of a fabric including a plurality of threads extending substantially parallel to each other, some of the threads of said plurality of substantially parallel threads being adapted to shrink upon application of moisture to said face portion at a greater shrinkage rate than the remainder of the threads of said plurality of substantially parallel threads, said difierence in shrinkage rate between some of the threads and the remainder of the threads influencing the temperature of said body portion by preventing the dressing from becoming stiff and adherent.

7. As an article of manufacture an absorbent dressing adapted to be applied to a body portion and to absorb body juices emanating therefrom, at least a major portion of said absorbent dressing consisting essentially of fibers selected from the group of cotton fibers and cellulosic fibers and being of violet colo References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 642,556 1/1900 Newcomer 128155 2,924,252 2/1960 Baron 139-413 3,067,745 12/1962 Burgeni et al. 167-84 3,173,419 3/1965 Dublier et al 128-399 OTHER REFERENCES The Merck Manual, 10th edition, 1961, page 1633, copy in Group 120.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

6. AS AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE, AN ABSORBENT DRESSING ADAPTED TO BE APPLIED TO A BODY PORTION AND TO ABSORB BODY JUICES EMANATING THEREFROM, SAID ABSORBENT DRESSING INCLUDING A FACE PORTION ADAPTED TO CONTACT SAID BODY PORTION, AT LEAST A MAJOR PORTION OF SAID ABSORBENT DRESSING HAVING A DARK COLOR AT LEAST THE MAJOR PORTION OF WHICH BELONGS TO THE PART OF THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM CHARACTERIZED BY A RELATIVE SHORT WAVE LENGTH, AND AT LEAST SAID FACE PORTION OF SAID DRESSING BEING FORMED OF A FABRIC INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF THREADS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THREADS BEING ADAPTED TO SHRINK UPON APPLICATION OF MOISTURE TO SAID FACE PORTION AT A GREATER SHRINKAGE RATE THAN THE REMAINDER OF THE THREADS OF SAID PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THREADS, SAID DIFFERENCE IN SHRINKAGE RATE BETWEEN SOME OF THE THREADS AND THE REMAINDER OF THE THREADS INFLUENCING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID BODY PORTION BY PREVENTING THE DRESSING FROM BECOMING STIFF AND ADHERENT. 